What Employers Should Know About Post-Accident Testing

Post-accident testing is one of the most misunderstood corners of the DOT rules. Not every accident triggers a test. Under 49 CFR 382.303 the rule applies to an occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle on a public road in commerce, and it has two branches. If the accident involved a fatality, every surviving driver who was performing safety-sensitive functions is tested, citation or not. If it involved bodily injury with immediate medical treatment away from the scene, or disabling damage that required a vehicle to be towed, a driver is tested only if the driver receives a citation for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident within eight hours (alcohol) or thirty-two hours (drugs). The clocks then run: an alcohol test attempted within two hours, with a written record if not, and attempts stopped at eight hours; drug-test attempts stopped at thirty-two hours. Boarding or alighting from a stationary vehicle and loading or unloading cargo are not accidents for this purpose. The time to understand the decision tree is before an accident, not in the hour after one.